Crave

One of the nicest feelings in the world is reassurance.

If someone wraps their arms tightly around you and tells you everything's going to be all right, you breathe more easily.

So I am, of course, delighted that the US National Reconnaissance Office -- the agency in charge of America's spy satellites -- has sent up a new one to watch over our not-always-fair planet.

To create more good feelings, Friday's launch was even live-tweeted.

I experience a troubling frisson, though, when I look at the logo on the side of the rocket. It features an octopus … Read more

Facebook may be loosening its straightjacket on emotional responses with a "sympathize" button for negative news, but a "dislike" button remains a dream.

If the function ever were implemented, users who tag a status with a negative emoticon would see acknowledgements of sympathy versus "likes." Disliking the bad news, however, would not be an option.

Facebook engineer Dan Muriello described the possible function and its origins in a company hackathon, saying the sympathetic response would accompany gloomy updates only. For example, it would only work with posts in which users specified what they're feeling by selecting from Facebook's menu of 40 emoticons, which tries to encompass the vast range of human psychology.… Read more

As you may have noticed, we Crave folks are a tad obsessed with all things geeky or nerdy or, as we like to think of it: super-cool stuff.

In fact, when we aren't writing about things like auditioning for "Star Wars," Batkid, or the future of the Hyperloop, we're probably talking about such subjects or collectively obsessing over some other sweet new tech.

Recently, we decided to look for ways to further share with readers this ongoing conversation about what seems to be the ever-widening glorious grip of geek culture. Our first experiment on this mission begins with a Google+ Hangout. Crave writers Bonnie Burton, Amanda Kooser, and myself have taken up what we hope will become a regular habit of gathering in a Hangout to discuss the latest developments in the Crave universe.… Read more

All right, Apple. It's like this.

You like to tell us that more people take pictures with the iPhone than any other camera.

You like to make ads in which, if you're not taking a picture of something, you can't be said to be living.

But just stop it. You might be messing with our memory.

That, at least, seems to be the conclusion from a depressingly modern piece of research performed by the Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Published in Psychological Science, this study took its subjects on a tour of an art museum, then tested their … Read more

A wink can convey all kinds of meanings. But what if you're looking at someone and their eyeglasses wink back at you?

Wink Glasses 2013 spectacles aren't designed for flirting or sharing inside jokes. But they do "wink" by fogging up for a split second.

Made by Masunaga Optical of Japan, they're designed to force computer users who suffer from dry eyes to blink at regular intervals. … Read more

Google has launched a new feature that puts you behind the wheel of Street View.

Well, Google doesn't literally give you the keys to one of its camera-rigged vehicles, but the Web giant is now letting photographers create personalized Street View experiences that can be shared with others. Google suggested in a company blog post Monday announcing the new feature that the tool could be used to share hiking trails or create virtual tours of a local shop.

The new feature, part of the Views community Google launched this summer, takes the 360-degree panoramic photo spheres taken with Android … Read more

Sherlock Holmes is back! Dr. Watson's Magnum P.I. mustache! New love interest! Mrs. Hudson screaming! This and many more moments worthy of any rabid "Sherlock" fan can be found in the new interactive trailer released by BBC One.

Warning: Spoilers ahead, so if you've never watched "Sherlock" or are catching up (there are only three episodes a season) stop reading now. … Read more

It's finals week at UC Davis, and the campus is gearing up to help students who may find themselves in crisis mode with today's launch of a mobile-friendly Web site that directs them to the most appropriate resources on campus and beyond. The service could be life-saving, given suicide is reportedly the second-leading cause of death among college students.… Read more

The art of using turn signals seems to be getting lost in the hustle for both cars and bicyclists alike. The Zackees Turn Signal Gloves project on Kickstarter wants to make turn signals cool again.

The gloves are typical bike-style fingerless gloves, but with light-up LED directional arrows built on top of each hand. Hold your hand up, trigger the contact pads, and traffic behind you can see which way you're planning to turn. This works equally well for bicyclists, runners, skateboarders, or what's left of the roller-blading crowd.… Read more